Good Morning Vietnam –Arriving in Hanoi

Our nine day tour of Vietnam started in Hanoi. For many of us who grew up during the Vietnam War, Hanoi conjures up images of American POW pilots held at the Hanoi Hilton or of a helmeted Jane Fonda sitting among North Vietnamese soldiers. Time and the vibrancy of a city with nothing more than the future on its mind have all but erased those images. In every respect we were warmly welcomed and wonderfully delighted with our visit.

The airport in Hanoi greeting international visitors is 1^st class. Helen’s arrangements for us to purchase our tourist visas ($25 USD each) upon arrival went smoothly. The visa agent graciously stepped from his office to show us where to complete the remaining forms. We paid in US dollars and he spoke American accented English. We were gathering our luggage 20 minutes after our arrival. In the spacious arrival foyer, American Express Travelers checks were exchanged at the Vietcombank kiosk for the local currency called the dong. Several ATM’s were available as well.

At an exchange rate of $1 USD = 16,000 dong (VND), we quickly adjusted to handling dominations of 50,000 (about $3) and 100,000 dong for services. Living here is relatively inexpensive. An excellent city map of Hanoi was purchased at the airport tourist information booth for 16,000 dong ($1USD). Soon we were off by taxi ($10 USD) for the 45 minute ride to our hotel in downtown Hanoi.

Helen made our hotel reservations through a travel agency in Bangalore that we had not used before. Booking hotel rooms in Hanoi for our trip proved most difficult due to the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) that was meeting in Hanoi. It was with some trepidation that we rode in the taxi to the Hoang Minh II Hotel on 53 Hang Bun Street. What exactly does $37 per night buy in this city?

The taxi stopped in front of an open store front with people bustling about as well as sitting on their haunches, cooking food over braziers. Hmmmmm. Youthful days of 3^rd and 4^th class backpacking in Asia crossed Jay’s mind. A “We can do this!” resolve entered us. But within moments we were directed to the glass doors of the lobby of the marvelous Hoang Minh hotel just two doors down. “Indeed, we can do this!”

The Hoang Minh Hotel was clean, our room was air conditioned, HBO/CNN was available on the TV and the service staff spoke sufficient English for us to be understood.

In another nod to the curative powers of time, our hotel was a short distance from the Long Bien Bridge, a frequent bombing target during the war. All is prosperous now. Our hotel was in a neighborhood surrounded with people crowded into small food stalls, the streets were brimming with motorbikes and cyber cafes were filled with youthful faces.

Important to us, our hotel was located just a few short blocks north of the trendy and touristy Old Quarter. Equipped with our Lonely Planet guide book and sturdy walking shoes, we set out on the first exploring day of our Vietnam adventure.